Today’s Interviews:

Lots of companies hire former federal officials. But bringing on a former fed and making him or her successful is a bit trickier. Bob Davis, president of Robert Davis and Associates, recently wrote a column on this topic for Washington Technology. He joined Francis to discuss his tips.

Agency reform gets complicated when managers can’t fire bad actors — or when they think they can’t. Scandals in the federal government are pushing this issue back into the spotlight. Tom Shoop, editor-in-chief at Government Executive, spoke to Francis about what managers have the power to actually do.

Bryan SivakChief Technology Officer Department of Health and Human Service

The term “big data” is one of the most popular buzz words in government right now. But, actually harnessing big data is proving to be a bit tougher than just saying “we’re using big data.” Big data was the topic of discussion at a recent event held by The Future of Information Alliance. And it will be the main topic at the upcoming Health Datapalooza. Bryan Sivak, chief technology officer for the Department of Health and Human Services, is also a Visiting Future-ist for FIA. He joined Francis to discuss what came out of the event and what’s next in the world of big data.

Inherently governmental jobs at the Pentagon shouldn’t be done by contractors. But in some cases, that’s exactly what’s happening, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office. Tim Dinapoli, director of acquisition and sourcing management issues at GAO, spoke with Francis about what the report found.

Yesterday, the nation honored the brave men and women who died serving our country in the military. This week is also a great opportunity to honor those who still fight for our freedom today. Robert Burton is a retired Army soldier and a wounded veteran. He’s participating in the Ride 2 Recovery this week — a 300-mile bike ride with other wounded veterans. He tells Federal News Radio’s Sean McCalley how he got involved in this new kind of battlefield.

When the Senate returns from recess, it will take up the nomination of General Services Administration Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini to take the job permanently. Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners, is a longtime observer of GSA. He recently wrote a piece about some tricks Dan Tangherlini may have up his sleeves.

Also on the show:

From Our Reporters:

There are a lot of reasons why the Department of Veterans Affairs is facing a backlog of hundreds of thousands of disability claims. But one big one is that most claims that come through the door involve a lot of manual paperwork for VA. Each one turns into a research project as claims raters hunt for documentation across federal agencies that could help substantiate a disability payment. VA is now formally partnering with two large veterans groups: the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans to help vets send in their claims with all the documentation they need in the first place, eliminating a lot of the back and forth. Verna Jones, the director of the Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission at the American Legion, spoke with Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu about the new partnership. Listen to their interview.

Francis Rose is the host of In Depth, which airs weekdays from 4-7 p.m. on 1500 AM in the Washington, DC metro area and online everywhere. Francis has covered all three branches of the federal government as a broadcast journalist since 1998. He joined Federal News Radio in 2006, and launched In Depth in 2008 as a daily show focused on connecting federal executives to the information they need to do their jobs better.